


So before a question (so before a doubt)...

by LivingInSmilesIsBetter (axm)



Category: Hudson & Rex (TV)
Genre: F/M, Flare of the Dog, Fluff, post-ep, season two
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-08
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-14 13:40:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29917746
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/axm/pseuds/LivingInSmilesIsBetter
Summary: “Once I’m free of these crutches I’ll sweep you off your feet, Truong.”It's been four weeks since Charlie was almost blown up by the Green Bottle Bomber; it's now or never (and he's tired of never).
Relationships: Charah, Charlie and Sarah, Charlie/Sarah
Comments: 11
Kudos: 18





	So before a question (so before a doubt)...

**Author's Note:**

> This was mostly written after Flare of the Dog aired last year. I started it, then hit a wall, and forgot about it. Remembering it existed today, I went in search of it thinking I’d only written a paragraph or two. But no, there were 1600 words. It needed to be finished. So I smashed through that wall, reworded some dialogue, and smashed out the last couple of hundred words tonight. It’s not my best work, it’s dialogue-heavy, but it's short, and fluffy, and I hope you enjoy it anyway?
> 
> Flare of the Dog – Post-Ep

Charlie lay sprawled along his couch, head angled so he could watch TV. Rex was pressed tight against him, the dog’s furry head on his stomach. He was bored. They both were. Desk duty until Charlie’s leg healed meant both he and Rex weren’t getting out as much as they used to. Weren’t getting out at all, really.

Rex whined against his stomach and Charlie reached out and scratched the dog behind the ears. The only reason Rex was getting any exercise was thanks to Sarah taking him to crime scenes, and taking him on evening walks. One more week and Charlie would be out of the cast and in a brace, but until then his life was desk duty, frustration, and this couch.  
A knock sounded at his door, breaking him from his pity party. He checked his watch and smiled. Six o’clock, on the dot.

“Come in, Sarah,” he called out to her, turning his head to the front door as it opened, and smiling at his partner.  
Partner, friend, best friend, work wife.  
Not really officially his partner, but officially all the other things.

“Hey, Charlie,” she greeted him as she stepped into his home. The smile already on her face grew just a little bigger as Rex’s head popped up at the sound of her voice. “And hi to you too, Rex.”

For the past four weeks Sarah had been at him home, every evening at six. Take-out in her hands, and a warm smile on her lips. She would walk Rex, then return to put food in the dog’s bowl and a plate of Chinese or Thai in Charlie’s hands. They’d watch TV together, and then, by nine, she would be off home, leaving Charlie and Rex alone again.  
But it was Saturday night, and he really needed the company tonight. Charlie’s smile grew at the sight of the case of beer in her hands. He needed that too.  
  
Sarah shrugged. “Figured since you’re finally off pain medication, you might be missing beer?” she said, her tone coy, her smile even more so.

“You have no idea.” Charlie nudged Rex off his lap, the dog’s tail already wagging in anticipation of his walk. Once his furry friend was trotting over to Sarah, Charlie added, “But only if you’re going to stick around and join us.”

Already at the door, Rex at her side, Sarah replied, “Nowhere else I’d rather be.”

* * *

Thirty minutes later, Charlie had the food dished onto plates and Rex’s food in his bowl. He was getting better at working with the crutches while carrying items. He still hadn’t mastered the reason he’d been trying at all: to carry a cup of coffee by himself from the coffee station to his desk in the bullpen. If Jesse carried his mug for him one more time, Charlie might find another use for his crutches.

But he did appreciate Jesse. Not like he appreciated Sarah though.

_Speaking of_ , he thought, as his front door opened and Rex bounded in, followed by Sarah. His two best friends looking happy and refreshed. He was just a little jealous.

“Good walk?” he asked. He stood at the table, resting his weight on his crutches, hoping next week’s brace meant the end of these damned things. Rex barked in response. Charlie chuckled. “I think that’s a yes.”

Sarah took the plates of food off the kitchen counter and walked them to the coffee table. Charlie watched as she returned and pulled two beers from the fridge. He hobbled back to the couch and sat beside her, propping his foot up on the coffee table away from the food. He hated this. He hated everything about this. Except Sarah’s company. They had often socialised after work before this. Usually at his place, popcorn, or pizza, beer and a movie. Sometimes Jesse joined them. They had all been friends for a couple of years now, but he and Sarah had clicked faster than he had expected. Some friendships were just like that, he supposed. She was smart as a whip, and the kindest soul he had ever met. And even when she first joined the team, when he had the Great Wall of China up around him to keep any emotional attachments at bay, Sarah had chipped through. Or maybe he had just let her in.  
She was beautiful too, he had noticed that from the start, but he had kept his attraction to her to himself, and a strong friendship had formed. A bond. For a long time, that was all it had been. But lately… He couldn’t deny she meant even more to him now.

“You okay?”

Sarah’s voice pulled him out of his reverie. He blinked. “Yeah, of course.”

She swallowed a mouthful of noodles. “Lost you there for a second.”

Taking a long pull from his beer, using the time to gather his thoughts, he swallowed and shrugged. “Just thinking,” he said, stalling.

“About?” she asked.

Sobering, despite the growing buzz of the alcohol in his system, Charlie said, “Getting back to work.”

“Jesse misses you.”

A smile played on Charlie’s lips at that. “Just Jesse?”

“Joe, too. A little.”

“I think he just misses Rex.”

“I do too,” she said, her voice softer, warmer. “It’s quieter in my lab without Rex.”

“Not that Rex is allowed in your lab.”

Sarah hid a smile behind her fork.

Clearing his throat, Charlie asked, “So, what are we watching tonight?”

“Something light,” Sarah said. “Been a long week.” The usual spark in her voice was missing from the last sentence.

Charlie shifted and eyed her curiously. “Now it’s my turn to ask if you’re okay?”

“Rex isn’t the only one I miss.”

There were so many responses, so many things he could say. If he was braver. If he wasn’t so scared of another failed relationship. Of damaging this nice, comfortable thing they had. He downed the last of his beer. “You ever see K-9?”

Sarah blinked at the question. “Uh,” she fumbled for a moment. “Is it a movie?”

“Rex’s favorite.”

“How can I say no?”

* * *

Twenty minutes into the film and Sarah almost choked on her second beer. “Jerry Lee? Really?” she asked, questioning the name of the dog in the film.

Rex lifted his head and turned to Sarah, as if to ask if she had a problem with that.

“You don’t think he looks like a Jerry Lee?”

“Oh, no, one hundred percent he’s a Jerry Lee. I just—” She laughed again. “Rex seems so mundane of a name now.”

“Well, it was Rex, or Count Chocula the Second.”

“Did you name him? When you adopted him? I never asked before,” Sarah said, her voice a little more serious now.

“No, Rex was his name before we met. With his first partner. It’s who he is.”

Sarah dipped her eyes at the mention of Rex’s deceased partner and nodded. “You think he remembers?”

A sad sigh left Charlie’s lips and it was all the answer Sarah needed.

“Yeah,” she said softly. “How could he forget?”

She turned her attention back to the film, but the atmosphere in the room was a little heavier now. She hadn’t said it, but he knew she was thinking it. He was thinking it too. If Rex hadn’t been there, or if Rex had gone in first, Charlie wouldn’t be here now. Hell, Rex might not even be here. If Rex hadn’t pulled Charlie from the water, he’d be dead. It was sobering.

“I’m glad you’re okay Charlie,” Sarah said, her voice little more than a whisper. “We’ve all had too many close calls recently, but your tally is getting up there.”

His eyes were glued to the TV but he felt her own fixed on him. She was right. In the past year he had let himself become more reckless. Rex had been the only thing keeping him grounded in this world. Keeping him in this world. Until his friendship with Sarah had grown, and the sting of his divorce eased. Now he cared about her too. He knew his close calls affected her.

“Some of the closest calls were with you.”

Sarah sighed. “The freezer,” she replied, remembering the time they had been trapped and had to huddle for warmth. “The mine.” Another scary situation, where they could have been crushed and suffocated at any moment. “The only thing that got me through either of those was you.”

“We got each other through.” He turned to face her and attempted a smile. “I’m just glad you weren’t at the restaurant when it exploded.” Why would she have been though? It was a Sunday, both he and Sarah had been off. The only reason she might have been there was if she had been in his car. Accompanying them to the dog park. Like a date.

“My life wasn’t half as interesting until I met you.”

“Oh, come on. A head of forensics who can fix a burst water pipe and once skated on the junior circuit?”

His words brought a smile to Sarah’s lips. “Don’t forget my extensive knowledge of art history.”

“How could I?” He would never forget the dress she had worn that evening either. The next words left his lips without his permission. “First date with my work wife.”

“Oh.” Her eyes widened in surprise. “I guess it was.” Sarah grinned. “Not a bad first date.”

“No,” he agreed. “Not bad at all.” It had to be now. If it wasn’t now, while she was staring at him with her emotions shining in her eyes, it might be never. And he was tired of never. “Maybe we could try a more official first date some time?”

The movie continued playing in the background, but both had stopped paying attention to the screen some time earlier. Even Rex was watching them curiously, his senses alerted to the shifting mood in the room.

“Going to have to be an amazing date to beat that art auction though.”

“Once I’m free of these crutches, I’ll sweep you off your feet, Truong.”

“I look forward to it.”

Charlie reached his arm along the back of the couch and gestured for her. “For now, I can offer company and cheesy eighties movies.”

Sarah shifted along the couch until she was nestled against him. His arm dropped to wrap around her, and he eased her even closer to him. She closed her eyes; breathed him in. “Sounds perfect.”

His check rested against the crown of her head. Like he had done so, in a freezer, not so long ago. To keep warm. To stay alive. Now, without excuses, but simply because he could. “Anywhere you need to be tonight?”

“Just here.”

It may have been a while, but he recognized this warmth spreading through him, remembered what that swelling in his chest meant. Love.

This was love.


End file.
